Powder Snow
by Aiko Isari
Summary: [Tamers] Post-series. Juri is like spring; she's not too cold.


_**A/N:** _Happy Friday everyone! I will admit here that I have not written much of Ruki and trying to post-series Juri is slightly difficult but hey, I gave it a go. Pairing, mostly one-sided but hey, Ruki's a bit awkward.

Challenges: Non Flash Bingo: 439 - prompt: the ice queen, 28 Days of Love Day 19: Write about any pairing, and Advent Calendar Challenge Day 1: Write something under 1k.

Warnings: A little cursing, and that's it

* * *

Powder Snow

Ruki always visits Juri with something in her hand.

It's a decent conversation starter, and Ruki has never been good at things like that.

This week, it's a box of powdered donuts. She won't eat them, but Juri will. Ruki doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, never has for much, except fruit once in a while.

"Ruki-nee-san!"

She nods at the kid playing with his toy train. Masohiko is more interested in things in general than Shuichon, but thankfully a lot less noisy about it. He waves at her and then goes back to his toys. Ruki looks around. "No big sis, huh?"

Masohiko shrugs his shoulders, the sleeves of his sweater drooping off. "She's got homework, I think."

Ruki shrugs back. "All right."

Still don't fit right in her mouth. This is the girl who, according to Takato, went to school when she had the flu. If it was just homework, she would still be out here in the living room, watching her brother.

But... she wasn't. That means Ruki had to hunt her down. At least it isn't like Digimon where she had to pull out the compass and look.

(She never brings her D-Arc with anymore. She hates the pretend smiles she will get with it on her belt.)

She steps forward then, moving in quick, short strides and nearly slipping on the clean wooden floor. She doesn't like slippers. She really doesn't like slippers. She passes a lazy wave at Juri's stepmother, whose name she forgets every other day, including today. The woman smiles and offers her a soda, which is gratefully taken.

"She all right?"

Shizue -that was her name!- nods, smiling absently. "She just wanted a nap. Something about algebraic equations and ancient trigonometry."

Ruki decides not to ask. It just means Juri sent her brain into a frizz and was now face first in her futon, groaning at the pain her brain was going through. "Got it. Thanks." She heads upstairs and knocks. "Juri."

"Mmnah!"

Ruki snorts. "Does that mean you're awake?"

"No," she hears in a mumble. Maybe if she says it enough, it'll come true.

Ruki sighs and grins a little. "I'm coming in."

"Kaaay~"

She hears the half-hearted 'wan!' of the long dearly passed on sock puppet and chuckles again, pushing the door open. Sure enough, there's Juri flat on her face on her bed. "Brought donuts," she says, sitting on the edge of her bed by Juri's head.

"Mmmuhhh."

Ruki snorts. "That bad, huh?"

Juri rolls on her side, lips puffed into a pout. "I hate trig," she says. Ruki glances at the paper and grimaces.

"Gonna have to agree with you on that." She moves back on the bed. "I brought you donuts." She feels the need to repeat the statement, since Juri had probably forgotten it while watching her come into the room.

"I can smell them," Juri says, sitting up in a slow, half-asleep sort of gesture. "Can I have one?"

Ruki thinks about this. "Are you gonna go outside?" She doesn't like the indoors much these days, she can't. Too many months roaming the city, too many days by herself.

"Do I have to look at homework?"

Ruki snorts. "Not a chance." She could feel a headache from that and she had barely seen at the paper.

Juri jumps up and hugs her and for a moment, Ruki really thinks the other girl is going to do something potentially stupid and probably not okay by societal standards (and when have they cared about those?). Regardless, Ruki pauses to put the bag down before she hugs the other girl back.

"Do you have a fever?"

Juri shakes her head, giggling. "You're just cold from outside."

Ruki flushes and rolls her eyes. "Come on, I'm dragging you outside too then."

Juri's response is to retie her red hair and snatch the snack. "We'll be cold together."

Ruki is never so happy that Juri tends to bounce around at her most exuberant of moments, because now she can hide the fact that she's blushing. Again. Damn it. She always does this.

"Yeah... sure..."

If Ryo says anything about this, she's killing him. With a plastic spoon.

Regardless, when Juri takes her hand, Ruki can't find enough strength to let go.

What harm could it do?


End file.
